As a good many of you know, I worked a convention this year the same way I have every November since 2000. I'll go into the details about it at some later point (Although the illustrius chebutykin has an excellent write-up in her journal: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3). What I'm writing about now, however, is more current. For this to make sense to you it is important to know that I got home from con at around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. I started back at work today. Here's an overview of the running "cost" so far, as it applies to my workplace:

196 unread e-mails in my inbox (non-listserv related)

439 unread listserv or otherwise automated e-mails

6 pads or more of Post-It notes that my coworkers used to prank my cube (Amusing and awesome pictures coming soon)

4 voicemails on my work-provided cell phone from our idiot Operations team, all from this morning

1 phone call from our idiot Operations team to the house at 0433 this morning, which woke me up

1 voicemail on my desk phone at work from our idiot Operations team

More than 18 new tickets in my individual helpdesk queue

The list goes on like that, but I'll spare the fine details. Suffice to say that the first two stats alone make my brain bend in unusual ways, because I was only out of the office for four business days! This is why I don't take vacations.

Speaking of vacations, 2007 is coming and this will be the first time in at least six years that I don't roll 40 hours of vacation time (or more, back before $EMPLOYER put a cap on it) into the new year's vacation allotment. I remarked on this to my manager and he was somewhat surprised. "Hey," he said. "We finally got you to use most of those 160 hours (four weeks) of vacation you've got! In fact, you're only going to roll over about 24 hours of vacation time this year!" He seemed pretty amazed and happy about this. He wasn't so happy and amazed when I observed that, Yeah, I did use my vacation time this year. And all it took was two deaths in my family, too. He sorta stopped being so jovial about it at that point.

Now I'm going to go call lady_curmudgeon and finalize my plans for Thanksgiving holiday and weekend.

This is the exact reason I can't discuss work in my own journal! Despite the fact that I use that picture of you and Checkpoint for motivation (reminds me I'm not the only one who feels that way) I envy you, for you are within choking distance of people who should decide to: a) learn fucking English, or b) go back to their own country, where I am certain they are ALSO not wanted.....

Feren: I'm having a day where I'm doing okay but still want to knock somebody's teeth in with a steel pipe.Ashryn: You always have those days <3Ashryn: It's your natural mode of operationFeren: ... good point.Ashryn: 'The sun is shining! Everybody's happy! You don't deserve teeth! *WHACKWHACK*'

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"A bullet sounds the same in every language."-- Stewie Griffin

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Wake me up insideWake me up insideCall my name and save me from the darkBid my blood to run before I come undoneSave me from the nothing I’ve become

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"One more brain cell and he'd be dangerous, one less and he'd be a plant." -- Garry